Fred Thompson is not the most inspiring speaker in the GOP race for President. Nor is he the best looking or the smoothest talking among the candidates running. He doesn’t have Mitt Romney’s hair or Mike Huckabee’s glibness. He isn’t as aggressively positive as Rudy Giuliani. And while his personal story is compelling, it can’t compete with John McCain’s inspirational journey from POW to the gates of the White House.

But Fred Thompson is perhaps the most substantitive candidate to run for President in many years. He has taken the time to think about what should be the relationship between the government and the governed. He has framed his thoughts within the context of a set of bedrock conservative principles that animates his thinking and generates sound ideas about where America should be headed.

There is a heft to Thompson, a seriousness of purpose that none of the other candidates can match. It is most pronounced during the debates where Thompson’s answers to questions are more subtle and nuanced than those of his rivals. His sometimes laconic style zings his opponents with brutal accuracy.. Often, the candidate will answer a question by stating “Yep” or “Nope” and pause a few seconds to gather his thoughts. What follows is almost always coherent and is informed by years of experience in government.

His now famous moment during the Des Moines Register debate where he refused to raise his hand like a schoolboy when the moderator asked who believed in global warming was a metaphor for the entire Thompson campaign; keeping the Mickey Mouse to a minimum while trying to be as substantative as possible with the voters. In short, Thompson is running the campaign his way and not in a manner dictated by any previous candidate’s success or any criticism that comes his way from media pundits.

His well thought out policy positions – “White Papers” the campaign calls them – have won him almost universal praise from souces as wildly divergent as the Washington Post and the National Review.

For instance, the Wall Street Journal had this to say about Thompson’s tax plan:

“However, what’s refreshing about the Thompson plan is that it goes well beyond the current Republican mantra to make “the Bush tax cuts permanent.” That is certainly needed, but the GOP also needs a more ambitious agenda, especially with economic growth slowing. The flat tax has the added political benefit of assaulting the special interests who populate the Gucci Gulch outside Congress’s tax-writing committee rooms. Lower rates and simplify the tax code, and you instantly reduce the opportunities for Beltway corruption. It is both a tax policy and political reform.

ABC had this to say about his plan to save Social Security:

Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson’s plan to save Social Security and protect seniors, which he introduced Friday afternoon in a Washington, D.C., hotel, differs starkly from standard election year pablum on the subject in one key way: He’s actually treating voters like adults.

If all of this is true, why is Fred Thompson fighting for his political life this Saturday in the South Carolina primary?

It is a question that, if Thompson’s bid falls short, will be asked by many who saw the former Tennessee senator’s entry into the race as a godsend. In the end, the candidate must look to his own efforts and the way the campaign began.

Leaving aside the question of whether Thompson’s September entry into the race could be considered “too late” there is the reality of how that campaign was conducted. Looking back, one could see it was unfocused, even aimless, in its first weeks with the candidate himself trying to find his voice. His early efforts were spotty and sometimes dreadfully boring. By many reports, voters came away perplexed and not a little disappointed.

Thompson’s socratic style of addressing those early crowds was a good way to discuss issues on a substantive level but a lousy way to run for president. Voters more attuned to snappy, one sentence solutions to the problems of the world coming from other candidates found that when listening to Thompson, they had to think, not react emotionally.

In this way, Thompson appealed to people more on an intellectual level. This was fine as far as it went but it brought him few converts and elicited nothing but contempt from the media.

How often have we heard the refrain that the American people wanted a campaign that dealt with issues not personalities? Well, here was Fred Thompson supposedly giving people what we were told they wanted and his once robust poll numbers began to plummet. Seeking an explanation, reporters and pundits who saw Thompson arrived at the conclusion that the candidate didn’t want it bad enough, that he had no “fire in the belly,” that he hated campaigning and didn’t extend himself as the other candidates were doing.

There may be a glimmer of truth in some of that conventional wisdom. Perhaps the candidate believed it was enough that he put his ideas on the table and let the American people decide whether or not they were worthy of consideration. Indeed, Thompson has said as much in the past. What perhaps the candidate didn’t realize is that fighting for those ideas and tying them to overarching themes is the most effective way to reach the voter.

But for whatever reason – the befuddlement of the press over his style of campaigning or a perceived lack of energy and desire – the candidate found himself at the end of November trailing badly in the polls. It was then that the campaign seemed to find itself and Thompson found those themes as well as his issues and tied them together. Crowds began to react more positively. It appeared the candidate himself was more energized and active.

But Thompson was pushing against weeks of very negative press and a conventional wisdom that had all but written him off. It was a daunting task to turn the campaign around but he has. Now he must convince voters in South Carolina and beyond that the conventional wisdom about his candidacy is wrong and that he deserves a second look.

His most recent appearances in South Carolina have shown an entirely different candidate than the one who appeared unfocused and low key during the first three months of his campaign. He has now found his mission; that the campaign is for the heart and soul of the Republican party and the future of the old Reagan coalition. When speaking in this vein, the candidate exudes a passion that may have been lacking in his earlier campaign stops. It carries over into his contrasting the records of his opponents with his own as he hammers away at their lack of true conservative credentials. He still talks specifics and issues but in a way that delineates his positions from those of his rivals. In short, he has found the bridge between a way to campaign effectively without sacrificing his belief that the voters hunger for substance in their candidate.

Thompson still pauses and thinks before he answers questions either from the media or voters. He speaks in complete sentences. He treats voters like “adults” as ABC mentioned above. In this sense, he is the anti-soundbite candidate. Whether Thompson’s no-nonsense approach to campaigning will give him victory will depend largely on whether voters are moved to support a man who views running for president not as the fullfillment of raw ambition but as a chance to serve the people.

By: Rick Moran at 6:52 am

8 Responses to “THE ANTI-SOUND BITE CANDIDATE”

1

matt foley Said:
9:15 am

Thompson is a no nonsense candidate, to be sure, and maybe a little boring, but he’s certainly a gifted speaker. As you said, early aimlessness and lack of focus may have killed this campaign. The problem is that any savvy media observer knows that a candidate needs to be well-spoken and snappy to energize his constituents. Sadly, a candidate must be 1 part orator 2 parts cheerleader, but any American with political ambition knows that or should.

2

zwhite Said:
11:43 am

Nothing at all wrong with Fred; it’s his campaign that’s been a disaster. He’s sort of like McCain in that way: determined to do things his way no matter what it costs him.

As far as integrity, Fred and McCain appear a cut above. Rudy trails a little, and Flip and Huck have proven themselves far behind.

Whatever happens, we MUST win the general, and the best thing for that will be to have the nomination settled by Feb. 5.

3

Connie Said:
11:51 am

“Fred Thompson is not the most inspiring speaker in the GOP race for President.”

I might disagree with you there, Rick. Inspiration, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If you’re inspired by honesty and brains, then Fred is inspiring. If you’re inspired by well-thought out plans for our economy and taxes, then Fred will inspire you.

Obviously, as other candidates develop plans based on Fred’s plans, must be he’s inspired them as well.

For Republican voters who want a â€œtrueâ€ conservative at the top of the Republican presidential ticket, please understand that you now have 24 hours to your partyâ€™s and Americaâ€™s destiny.

Senator Fred Thompson, as you know, is the sole bearer of the conservative mantle; more specifically, he is strong on national security and defense; for smaller government; and low taxes and reduced federal spending. He is 100% pro-life and family; stridently against illegal immigration; and a proponent of national sovereignty.

Now is the time for you to make a difference on the battlefield, namely, South Carolina. Senator Thompson has the campaign momentum, yet the time is short. You must sieze the initiative now and press the attack. How? Visit http://www.fred08.com , become a â€œFriend of Fred,â€ and use the free â€œPhone for Fredâ€ system and phone list, to call Republicans in South Carolina.

The most recent polls indicate that 41% of the South Carolina Republican voters are either undecided or may change their vote. Senator Thompson is in a position to win this race, but the race will likely be decided by a few hundred votes. Your critical phone calls to South Carolina Republicans on Friday January 18th, can make the difference in determining whether the Republican Party, Americaâ€™s only hope for the preservation of the nation, will have the one candidate who can unite the partyâ€™s three voting pillars, that is, the Reagan Coalition, of fiscal conservatives; national security conservatives; and religious/social conservatives.

Senator Thompson has been campaigning intensely in South Carolina on both the ground, through his 35 city bus tour, holding 5 or more events a day, talking directly to the voters in person, and in local live radio broadcast townhalls; and across the air waves with excellent media advertising, financed by hundreds of small donors.

Now, the Senator needs your timely and vital support. This is the proverbial â€œcrunch timeâ€ or â€œclutch!â€ Will you, as a committed conservative, â€œstep upâ€ in the â€œclutch,â€ to save your country? The future of the Republican Party, and most importantly, America lies in your hands.

5

martin Said:
2:01 pm

Fred will make and excellent running mate for Mitt Romney.
Once he has Romney staff organize his day he will be a much better campaigner.

I too would disagree with you contention that Fred is not inspiring speaker. He has the ability to cut through the BS like no other candidate. He is also the least likely of any candidate to “triangulate” a solution to (insert problem here).

I find his style of campaigning refreshing, i.e. running on his principles, stating his case to the American people, and then let the chips fall where they may. I’ve always been suspicious of any candidate who wants to be President and is willing to “do whatever it takes” to win.

7

kreiz Said:
2:46 pm

He treats voters like â€œadultsâ€... No wonder he’s not winning. What kind of strategy is THAT?

8

retire05 Said:
12:24 am

I read (can’t remember where) that often Thompson will take a chair, sit down in front of the crowd and unlike the other candidates who stand above the crowd, lean back on the back two legs of the chair and have a “conversation” with the audience.
What other popular president treated voters like friends? FDR with his “fireside chats”.

Now Fred’s tactic of being acessible to the populace may not play well in the heady north, but I can tell you, it will in the south. Just take a look at Mitt the last two days, no jacket, no tie, shirt collar button undone. The “everyman” image. Only Fred Thompson is the “everyman”. Why is that? He is out of the northern states and in South Carolina and Nevada, they will expect him to represent them by being one of them.

The American voter has suffered from the same “dumbing down” process that our schools have. The Nikki Hilton, Brittany Spears glitter mentality has prevailed and voters want glitz, not common sense. Hell, you can sell anything to anyone if you wrap it up in pretty paper.

Even if Fred loses N.C., he must go on. He will gain delegates in Texas whose first Republican straw poll selected Duncan Hunter, another true conservative. Hunter needs to throw in the towel and come out for Fred in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and all points west.